Of all the ways I thought my career might end, falling for a lieutenant during a warp core breach wasn’t one of them.
“Master Chief William J. Smith, please stand to receive sentencing,” the judge said, straight faced with no emotion.
There I was. Exactly where I knew I’d end up if we got caught. An 18-year career in the Planetary Alliance, gone in a single moment. We should have defected.
Six months earlier, on August 22, 2143, a new officer, Lieutenant Natasha C. Merril, got stationed aboard the USS Berserk, a new Alpha Class Starship. She was performing her initial onboarding walk-through inspection to ensure everything, and everyone was present and accounted for. After finalizing her onboard inspection, she made her way to my department, Engineering, deck five, subsection three-six. The team I oversaw was conducting emergency repairs after another attack from the first alien species to contact us. The Cerelians. Before them, we were alone in the universe.
“You fracking idiot!” I said, eyes wide open as the alarm triggered.
WARNING. WARNING. PRESSURE EXCEEDING TOLERANCE. WARP CORE BREACH IMMINENT.
“I’m sorry, Master Chief, I didn’t…”
“Get back! Everyone out, now!” I moved fast, with total focus and absolute precision over the task at hand. Why was no one watching the new guy?
It was already almost midnight, and after a 32-hour shift, I was nearing the end of my rope.
“Not you, Senior Chief. Go to Control Panel Four-Six-Delta. Find the valve blocking plasma injection coil three-two-six. There must be a pressure relief valve stuck closed. GO!”
Everyone rushed out. I turned around to make sure they followed my order.
That’s when I saw her for the first time. Our eyes locked for a split second. I felt lost; time stood still. She’s a Lieutenant. Tall. Great posture. Green eyes. Perfect uniform; no wrinkles, smudges, or hanging threads. Shoes polished to perfection. Hair tied up in a bun, hiding her long blond hair.
“You heard him. Everyone out, now! Hustle!” Lieutenant Merril said with a strong commanding presence, as she was the last to exit.
I couldn’t help but admire the way she stepped in without hesitation. She wasn’t just another officer checking off boxes; she was a true leader, through and through. I noticed how she didn’t just shout orders. She was a team player, quick to support my orders when a technical mishap caused a potential warp core breach.
Twelve minutes later, Senior Chief Becket found the stuck valve. Disaster averted, for now.
The Engineering crew returned to fix the warp drive. I stood watch for another six hours to make sure nothing else went wrong while we locked down sensitive systems. One of those days, a 38-hour shift with no break. Luckily, I managed to get a full five and a half hours of sleep before I was back on duty. A quick shit, shower, and shave, I put on a clean undershirt and slipped on the same coveralls from the day before. I could usually go a week between washings before the smell bothered me.
I hustled to make it on time. If you’re not early, you’re late. As the automatic doors opened to Engineering, we noticed each other, again, but from afar. Same quick, awkward glance. I ignored her and went straight to the engineer I left in command.
“Status report.”
“Nothing to report, Master Chief. All systems are nominal.”
“How long until the warp drive is back online?”
“Twenty-seven hours.”
“I need this done in five.”
Before I completed the status update, Lieutenant Merril interrupted, her focus never left the clipboard.
“Master Chief Smith, I need this warp core back online, now.”
“What do you think we’re doing?”
“You’ll address me as Lieutenant, Master Chief,” she said, eyebrows pressed together while staring me down, asserting her Officer authority over me. “Break rank again, and I’ll report this up the chain of command. Do you understand me?”
“Aye, Lieutenant,” I said with a professional look. I knew she wasn’t just throwing rank around. She commanded respect, no matter what room she entered, people listened when she spoke. I also knew that Command would be breathing down her neck if the warp core wasn’t back online ASAP. I could tell that she wasn’t about to let anyone slow her down from doing the job Headquarters entrusted her to do.
She turned away with a snap and walked towards the dead warp core to continue filling out the damage reports for Headquarters.
As she walked away, I took a quick glance at her curves and got back to work. I don’t like this new Lieutenant. She’s got a bit of a little attitude. Frack, she’s hot, though!
Over at the Main Control Panel, I opened the auxiliary support system work diagram. All engineers had orders on the components in need of priority attention. If we can find and seal the plasma leak, we should be able to initiate pre-startup procedures.
My undivided attention was on finding the leak. As I toggled between system diagrams, I caught a quick reflection on the monitor of Lieutenant Merril. I saw her take a fast glance, from my boots to my hat, then back to her clipboard. I removed my hat to wipe the sweat (Engineering was always hot), then I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Oh boy. What are we doing? Don’t do it. I’m already on thin ice with Headquarters; I don’t need to add fraternization to the list.
I glanced at my watch. Fourteen hours went by, nothing but work. My stomach started grumbling loud enough for me to hear. I dashed to the mess hall and grabbed the first thing I could eat while walking. I finished my food right before getting back to Engineering.
The doors open. Day shift just clocked out, no reason to stay an extra second more than you had to. Being senior in command, didn’t leave much time to be off the clock. Right now, it was just us, and a third-year recruit finishing up his final task for the evening.
Once again, right when I entered, we noticed each other. This time, we held eye contact until a small explosion on the upper deck grabbed our attention.
“Master Chief!” Lieutenant Merril said with a loud voice just shy of a scream.
“On it!” I said and climbed the ladder to the second deck to find the source of the explosion. “Recruit! Go to the Main Control Panel and close all the plasma relay valves leading to the warp core.”
“Aye, Master Chief.” Recruit Savela said. “Valves closed.”
“Lieutenant, on my mark, I need you to pull lever Six-Foxtrot underneath the core. We need to reverse the plasm flow before it fills the compartment, and we suffocate.”
“I’m in position, Master Chief.”
“Three, two, one, and mark.”
I looked down from above to make sure Lieutenant Merril pulled the correct lever. She was arched and almost all the way under the warp core. I tried not to stare. A hard blink, I rolled my eyes and shook my head to get focused back on the plasma leak. I admired her skill in knowing exactly what to do. She didn’t flinch, even as the sparks rained down near the core. One wrong move and the entire room could’ve ignited, but her hands were steady. She had nerves of steel.
With the plasma leak contained, I climbed down the ladder, back to the main level.
“Recruit Savela,” I said. “You’re relieved. Go get some sleep before your next shift starts in six hours.”
After Savela left, we were alone. At least for the next few minutes before the night crew came on duty.
“You smell like a bag of smashed ass holes,” she said, backing away from me.
“Don’t Master Chief’s quarters come with a bidet.”
“Don’t get too excited, Lieutenant princess. I clearly didn’t see you eyeing me up while I was at the Main Control Panel. I just might have to report YOU, for making ME feel uncomfortable.”
“Get over yourself, Master Chief William. You have the shittiest looking boots here. I’m surprised you even know how to shave.”
“I hope everything is shaved,” I said, her mouth dropped wide open in shock.
“You have some balls, Willy.”
“Please. My balls are so big, my pants barely fit.” I said as she tried to hold back her laughter while she slowly shook her head with one eyebrow cocked upward.
Beneath the sarcasm and quick comebacks, I could tell she was already calculating at least half a dozen engineering problems in her head. She never stopped working, even while she was giving me hell.
Just then, the night crew began trickling in.
“Lieutenant,” I said and nodded my head, and turned around to start the safety briefing. Every shift started with the same tired brief. Just don’t do anything stupid. That was pretty much what the entire brief was about. Every fracking shift change, the same old brief.
While I waited for everyone to line up in ranks to take muster, I slid a small note into Lieutenant Merill’s pocket. It fit right in. The note said, “Tomorrow morning, my quarters. Early coffee. My room’s cleaner!”
During the next 16 hours on duty, I found time to look at the schedule. Somehow, we were on the same shift rotation for the next 94 days. Oh, damn! She’s my direct supervisor.
We had our first coffee date, which we clearly shouldn’t have done. She knew. I knew. But there was something there. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Night and day, the intrusive thoughts kept winning. Why did it have to be her? Things went on like this for several months, with insane amounts of discretion. If we were caught, at the very minimum, one of us would be transferred off the USS Berserk. That was the last thing either of us wanted.
On the first day that our duty schedules were different, I stood watch, alone, in Cargo Bay One-Seven-Alpha. Cerelian attacks had picked up. Nothing too crazy. Mostly small Scout Vessels launching fast attacks at random, then disappearing without a trace. Still, the damage a Scout unleashed was a bit more than USS Berserk could handle, at least not for much longer.
Captain Magnus had the crew spread thin all throughout the ship. The latest strategy continued with active monitoring for Scout Vessels, with the hope of finding a pattern to their erratic attacks. With the entire crew on rotating Cerelian watch around every square inch of the ship, the assaults appeared to slow to a crawl. They must have known we were watching, waiting to catch their next attack.
Stuck in a giant cargo bay, alone, I stared at a radar screen with hopes of catching the next attack—for a detailed analysis. My job was to monitor the outside area of this cargo bay, two decks above and two below. Even though the system was programmed for automatic scanning, my job was to be ready to analyze, report, and return fire—if possible.
On top of my regular duty shift in Engineering, I also had to stand watch for 14 hours, alone. Only seven hours in, this sucks. With nothing to do but stare at a monitor, my thoughts drifted to her. Not even a full day apart and my urge to see her started to itch. Just focus, the time will go by faster if I don’t keep looking at the clock.
After looking at my watch for the third time in the last 10 minutes, I heard the bay doors open. It was Natasha. She wasn’t in her duty uniform.
“You busy?” she said, knowing damn well I wasn’t busy. She was as clever as she was gorgeous. Sharper than anyone I’ve ever met.
“Swamped! Captain needs me to replace the cargo door, trim the hedges, and grease the wheels.
“I have something you can grease.”
No more than 14 hours apart. The urge was mutual. Right out in the open, things started getting heavy. Everyone else was also on solo watch. No one’s going to come in. Not way back here in the cargo bay on the edge of nowhere. Even though I was right, we silently agreed the risk was low enough to get lost in the heat of the moment. The large room had a loud echo.
It wasn’t more than 20 minutes into the act when I heard a deafening blast nearby. Thirty seconds to get my uniform back on and another 40 to rush back to the radar display. Barely a minute passed. By then, it was too late to do anything.
Natasha ran out.
“Captain, Cerelian attack, two decks up from Cargo Bay One-Seven-Alpha.”
“Report!” the Captain said with a loud focus.
“Nothing to report.”
“Where the frack have you been for the last 97 seconds?”
“I was here, Captain.”
“Why weren’t you at your post?” he said as I felt his anger growing. “Security is on its way to investigate. Prepare for inspection.”
Security investigated me for the next four hours straight. No matter how discreet we thought we were, people noticed. Fraternization wasn’t always strictly enforced, only if it didn’t interfere with your duties. Today, it did. Everyone already knew. Someone saw something. If you were caught lying to Command, you were punished more severely than the offender, in most cases. No one is going to hide what they saw.
Even though I didn’t tell them everything, at least not what we were doing, it was inferred and treated as if they knew exactly what we were doing. While they were still investigating, I was released and ordered to remain in my quarters and prepare for trial—resolutions happen fast on starships.
Instead of returning to my room, I went to hers.
“What is this?” I said, my heart pounded as adrenaline filled my body.
“Transfer orders,” she said. “Land duty back on Earth at Mycelium Production Facility Three-One-Six. We knew this was coming if we ever got caught.”
“You were at trial while they investigated me?”
“We should have been more careful,” she said at a near whisper. “You need to leave, now! I don’t want us to get in any more trouble.”
My trial was set to begin soon. I looked at my watch. Thirty-three minutes and 42 seconds until I must be there. Frack!
“What are we going to do?” I said as my body felt paralyzed with fear and anger.
“There’s nothing. What’s done is done.”
“There’s always something we can do, Natasha!” I said with a firm grip on the small of her back. Our eyes locked. I was intoxicated by everything about her; her delicious smile, her confident stubborn nature, and the gentle kindness hiding behind her rough exterior. Just as I saw her place her hand on her stomach, she pushed me away.
“Get off me. It’s over. It has to be. Please don’t make this harder than it already is.”
“I’m not going anywhere without you!” I said, thinking as fast as I could. “We can defect.”
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” she said and smacked my chest, eyes closed, tears streaming. “People got hurt, William. Two are in critical condition. All because of us.”
“You weren’t on duty; I was. If anyone dies because I abandoned my post, there’s no way I’m not getting the death penalty. Our only option is to defect!”
“No! If we get caught defecting, we will both get the death penalty.”
“I might get the death penalty anyway! The only possible way to be together is to defect.”
The soft hum of the engines filled the cold, silent room.
“I know who can help us,” I said. “Say the word, and we can be together.”
“I’m getting transferred, I don’t want to risk certain execution for defecting.”
“There are things worse than death,” I said, as reality settled in.
Out of nowhere, three loud pounds on the door brought us back.
“Lieutenant. You’re needed on the bridge,” said a crewmate following orders.
“On my way,” she said with urgency.
“Come with me.”
“I said no, there’s no way I’m defecting!” she said, losing her patience.
There was nothing I could say to change her mind.
She pulled her hat down and stormed out without looking back.
I sat down on the edge of her bed with my hands holding my head up. I felt gutted. A new type of pain I didn’t even know existed. It stung. If I defect without her, we definitely won’t see each other again.
With plenty of time to spare, I decided I had to show up for trial. As much as I wanted to be with her, it wasn’t worth risking our lives. The court laid out the charges against me, presented evidence, and made a swift ruling. Even though nobody was killed because I abandoned my post, they still got hurt. I avoided the death penalty, not by much. The court sentenced me to 20 years in a maximum-security facility on Earth, two cities over from where they transferred Natasha.
Security escorted me to the transport vessel for immediate transfer to Earth. They locked me behind bars. Full restraint.
No more than five minutes later, I saw Natasha board. Naturally, we noticed each other. She ignored me. Or maybe she had orders not to speak to me.
The transport vessel launched. Thirty minutes to Earth.
Every few moments, I’d look over, and we’d make eye contact. What is she thinking? Where do we go from here? Twenty years in prison is too long.
While lost in thought, one of the guards handed me a note. It was from her. I opened it as fast as I could.
“William, my love,” the note began. “I’m pregnant.”
My head snapped towards her. Right as my eyes filled with tears, hers followed.
Twenty years apart. A child I’d never hold.
This is worse than death.